In my much younger days I sailed dinghies. The thing about solo sailing is that you don’t want the dinghy to sail away if you fall overboard. Trust me, falling overboard is quite easy to do when the wind is strong, the waves big and the boat small.

How did we prevent the dinghy from sailing away once the sails were set? By angling the mast in a manner that made the dinghy want to turn into the wind at all times. Letting go of the rudder meant that the sails would spill and the dinghy would stop.

So the first purpose of the rudder is to keep the dinghy turned away from the wind so that the sails can fill. Only then is it used to steer somewhere specific.

Being rudderless in life will also bring you to a stop. The trick to smooth sailing in life is to know how much rudder to use and when.

Welcome to my side of the nonsense divide.